Microsoft joins the push for higher speed wireless networks. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. Microsoft started selling 802.11B wireless networking equipment for consumers last year... long after other companies had been in the business... but it quickly jumped to the number two position in sales... behind Linksys. Microsoft is behind Linksys and others again... in rolling out... products that use the 802.11G standard... .which lets data travel five times faster.

"We believe that G will be the prevalent standard going forward."

Microsoft product manager Todd Greenberg. In addition to a wireless access point and router and cards for desktops and notebooks, there's an adaptor specifically designed for the Xbox video game console...

"So the real benefits are for people that have broadband and have multiple PCs at home. It's not just one PC with broadband, now you have multiple PCs that can have it. So in the past, you'd have broadband going to one PC and then you have another computer that's upstairs or in another room..it's basically an island with dial-up. Or maybe everybody in the household would fight over that one PC. Now with wireless networking you can share your broadband to all the PCs in your home and small office. And now with our Xbox wireless adaptor, you can now share broadband with your Xbox to play Xbox Live over the Internet."

Which Microsoft hopes will increase sales of the service. The company says it is selling the equipment to help advance the digital home concept. It has also added security features and parental controls. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.